Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Warden, within a mining district, and the Commissioner of Crown Lands, within any portion of a land district outside a mining district, may grant the following coal-mining rights:—

Subject to the provisions of this Act, and if no other rights inconsistent therewith are in existence in respect of such lands, coal-mining rights may be granted over the following classes of land:—

In addition to the conditions hereinafter prescribed with reference to the grant of coal-mining rights the following special provisions shall apply to the granting of such rights over the lands referred to in paragraphs (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) of the last preceding subsection:—

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, all revenues derived from a coal-mining right granted in respect of any education reserve or endowment shall be applied as if they were moneys derived from the lease of such reserve or endowment:

Provided that to meet administration and other charges there shall first be deducted from the aforesaid revenues such commission as may be prescribed, but not exceeding ten per centum thereof.

In so far as the provisions of this Act relating to the grant of coal-mining rights over the lands described in the First, Second, and Third Schedules to the Westland and Nelson Coal Fields Administration Act, 1877, are inconsistent with the provisions of such last-mentioned Act the provisions of this Act shall prevail.

All coal-mining leases granted, extended, or amalgamated under the Westland and Nelson Coal Fields Administration Act, 1877, or any other Act relating to the granting, extension, or amalgamation of coal-mining leases in the said coalfields, and subsisting at the commencement of this Act, shall enure for the purposes of this Act as fully and effectually as if they had originated or been extended or been amalgamated under the corresponding provisions of this Act, and accordingly shall where necessary be deemed to have so originated, or been extended, or been amalgamated.

The power herein conferred on Wardens and Commissioners of Crown Lands to grant coal-mining leases shall, notwithstanding anything in any other Act to the contrary, extend to authorize the grant of the right to raise and dispose of coal from under any road vested in His Majesty, or any part of the foreshore so vested, or under the bed of the sea or any navigable river, and the provisions of this Act in regard to coal-mining leases shall, as far as applicable, apply to any such grant.

In any case in which an application is made in pursuance of this Act for a coal-mining lease of land in any part of which any person other than the applicant may be entitled under any license to cut, construct, or use any race or dam, or to enjoy any other easement for mining or other purposes, the application may, with the consent of the Minister as hereinafter set out, be granted, subject to all existing rights in, to, or to the use of such race or dam or other easement, and there may be imposed such terms as are thought necessary in order to secure the enjoyment of the same, or to secure compensation for any injury or inconvenience likely to arise to such person by reason of the grant of such lease.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a coal-prospecting license shall, with respect to the land over which it is granted, entitle the holder thereof to prospect for coal on such land.

No license shall be granted over a larger area of land than two thousand acres.

A coal-prospecting license shall, unless previously cancelled under the provisions of this Act, continue in force for one year, but on application made by the holder thereof, at least one month prior to the date of expiry thereof, the Warden or Commissioner may, with the consent of the Minister and subject to such conditions as he may impose, renew the same for a period not exceeding one year.

There shall be payable in respect of every coal-prospecting license granted under this Act an annual rental of not less than sixpence and not more than two shillings and sixpence an acre or part of an acre, payable half-yearly in advance.

It shall be a condition of every coal-prospecting license that the licensee vigorously and continuously carries on prospecting operations to such extent as in the opinion of the Warden or Commissioner the circumstances of each case demand, and, in addition, the Warden or Commissioner may, in granting any license, impose such other conditions as are deemed necessary.

The holder of a coal-prospecting license shall at any time while the license is in force have the right, on making application in accordance with and otherwise complying with the provisions of this Act, to exchange it for a coal-mining lease under this Act over the whole of the land described in the license or over any portion thereof the boundaries of which have been approved by the Minister.

If in the course of bona fide prospecting operations marketable coal is raised by the holder of a coal-prospecting license, whether granted before or after the commencement of this Act, the Warden or Commissioner, as the case may be, may, with the consent of and subject to conditions imposed by the Minister, authorize the sale or other disposal of such coal on payment by the licensee of a royalty of not less than twopence and not more than one shilling a ton of coal so sold or disposed of.

A coal-prospecting license may be granted to the Minister or to any person authorized in that behalf by the Minister, and may be held by the Minister or by such authorized person as aforesaid for and on behalf of His Majesty in the same manner in all respects as if it were held by a private person:

Provided that no rent or royalty shall be payable in respect of a prospecting license issued under this section.

The Minister may also, if he thinks fit, with the consent of the owners or occupiers of any private land, and subject to such terms and conditions as may be agreed on, engage in prospecting operations for coal on such land.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a coal-mining lease shall, with respect to the land over which it is granted, be a demise of such land entitling the lessee to raise and dispose of coal therefrom.

No lease shall be granted over a larger area of land than two thousand acres.

No lease shall be granted after the commencement of this Act to any person who is the holder of a coal-mining lease or leases, or the owner of a mine or coal-bearing land, and no assignment or transfer to any such person of any lease granted after the commencement of this Act shall be consented to, if the land that would be held by him in contiguous areas after such grant, assignment, or transfer would exceed in the aggregate two thousand acres:

Provided that the Minister may consent to the grant of a lease of land, or to the assignment or transfer of a lease, notwithstanding that the area held by one person thereby exceeds the maximum aforesaid if he is satisfied that the configuration of the land or other considerations of working the coal render it desirable to do so.

For the purposes of the last preceding subsection one area shall be deemed to be contiguous to another area if any part of the boundary of one is within ten miles of any part of the boundary of the other, and any area that is contiguous to another area shall be deemed to be also contiguous to every other area to which such last-mentioned area is in fact contiguous or is deemed to be contiguous.

A lease shall not be granted for a longer term than sixty-six years:

Provided that in the case of a lease granted under this Act or under the corresponding provisions of any former Act for a less term than sixty-six years the Warden or Commissioner, as the case may be, may from time to time, on the application of the lessee made not later than three months before the expiry of his existing lease, and with the approval of the Minister, grant to the lessee a new lease of the land comprised in the existing lease on such terms and conditions, subject to the provisions of this Act, as he thinks fit:

Provided further that the term of the original lease and of all subsequent leases granted under the authority of this section or of the corresponding provisions of any former Act shall not exceed sixty-six years in the aggregate.

There shall be reserved under the lease an annual rental of not less than one shilling and not more than five shillings for each acre or part of an acre included therein, such rental to be payable half-yearly in advance on the first day of January and the first day of July in each year.

There shall also be reserved under the lease a royalty at the rate of not less than twopence and not more than one shilling a ton or part of a ton on the output of all marketable coal raised under the powers of the lease:

Provided that the term “marketable coal” shall not include slack or waste coal which is unsaleable or which cannot be profitably utilized for any purpose:

Provided further that if any slack or waste coal which has been temporarily unsaleable or unable to be profitably utilized is later sold or so utilized, royalty shall be payable on it, and the amount thereof shall be calculated at the end of the half-yearly period within which the date of such sale or utilization falls.

The royalty reserved under the lease shall be calculated for half-yearly periods ending on the thirtieth day of June and the thirty-first day of December in each year, and shall, subject to the provisions of this section, be payable within one week after the close of any such half-yearly period.

If the royalty calculated in accordance with the terms of the lease for any half-yearly period exceeds the rent for that period, the royalty payable for that period shall be reduced to the amount by which the royalty so calculated exceeds the rent.

If the royalty calculated in accordance with the terms of the lease for any half-yearly period does not exceed the rent for that period, but exceeds fifty per centum of the rent, the royalty payable for that period shall be reduced to an amount equal to fifty per centum of the rent.

In every case other than the cases provided for in the two last preceding subsections royalty shall be payable in accordance with the terms of the lease.

The provisions of subsection one relating to the payment of rental half-yearly in advance, the provisoes to subsection two, and the provisions of subsections three, four, five, and six of this section shall apply with respect to all leases, whether granted before or after the commencement of this Act, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the leases.

For the purposes of this section “coal” includes claystone and fireclay.

Where by reason of exceptional circumstances or unfavourable conditions over which the lessee has no control it appears desirable to grant relief to the holder of a coal-mining lease the Minister may, on the recommendation of the Warden or Commissioner, as the case may be, postpone the payment of the rent imposed by the lease, or remit any rent due or that may be in arrears, or reduce the rent for such period as he thinks fit:

Provided that in the case of a lease for the granting of which the consent of any person other than the Minister, or of any body of persons, is required, no such postponement, remission, or reduction shall be granted without the like consent.

In granting any such postponement, remission, or reduction as aforesaid the Minister may impose such conditions as he thinks fit, and in particular may in any case of the postponement of rent require that interest at a rate not exceeding five per centum per annum shall be payable on the amount of rent postponed.

Every coal-mining lease granted under the authority of this Act shall be deemed to have been granted subject to the following exceptions, reservations, and conditions:—

Every coal-mining lease hereafter granted shall be read and construed as if the aforesaid exceptions, reservations, and conditions were set out in such lease in words at length.

The exceptions, reservations, and conditions set out in subsection one hereof, and operating for the benefit of His Majesty by virtue merely of his ownership of the land over which a lease is granted, shall, with respect to a lease granted over land vested in a person other than His Majesty or in a body of persons, operate for the benefit of such person or body of persons, and the provisions of the said subsection one shall for the purposes of this subsection be construed accordingly.

Every coal-mining lease shall be granted subject to such further conditions as the Warden or Commissioner granting the same thinks fit, and shall contain covenants for securing the proper and effectual working of the coal within the land thereby demised and for the surrender of the land at the end or earlier determination of the lease.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a tramway license shall, in accordance with the terms thereof and with respect to the land over which it is granted, entitle the holder to construct thereon and work and maintain tramways for the purpose of conveying coal from a coal-mine.

A tramway license shall be granted for a term or terms not exceeding in the aggregate sixty-six years.

There shall be payable in respect of every tramway license an annual rental of such amount as may, with the approval of the Minister, be fixed by the Warden or Commissioner.

Every tramway license shall be granted subject to such further conditions as the Warden or Commissioner granting the same thinks fit.

The following provisions shall apply with respect to every application for coal-mining rights under this Act:—

Notice of every application for a coal-mining right shall be given in such manner, within such time, and to such persons as are prescribed, and shall in every case be given to all persons whose interests obviously will be affected.

Every application shall also before the hearing thereof be advertised twice, with an interval between each insertion of one week, in some newspaper circulating in the district in which the land covered by the application is situated.

Any person desiring to object to the granting of the application shall, in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed time, give to the Warden or Commissioner, to the Inspector for the district, and also to the applicant notice in writing of the nature of such objection, and (subject to the provisions of the next succeeding section) no person shall be entitled to appear at the hearing in support of an objection unless he has duly given such notice.

The Warden or Commissioner in his discretion may, at any time before the application is finally disposed of, direct notice thereof or of any objection thereto to be given to any person.

The following provisions shall apply to the hearing of applications for coal-mining rights:—

Every grant of a coal-mining right by the Warden or Commissioner shall be made subject to the consent of the Minister thereto, who in his discretion may refuse his consent, or grant it unconditionally or on such conditions as he thinks fit to impose, including a condition requiring the deposit by the grantee of an amount to secure the due performance of his obligations under the coal-mining right.

Every lease or license conferring a coal-mining right shall be signed by the Warden or Commissioner granting the same, and shall have the Minister’s consent endorsed thereon in writing, and shall be as valid and effectual if so signed and endorsed as if executed by or on behalf of His Majesty or other person or body of persons in whom is vested the land over which such coal-mining right is granted.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, and with the consent of the Minister in each case, but not otherwise, the following powers may be exercised with respect to coal-mining rights:—

The Minister shall grant his consent under the last preceding subsection only on the recommendation of the Warden or Commissioner, as the case may be, and may grant it subject to such conditions as he thinks fit. Every such consent shall be in writing.

No assignment or transfer of a coal-mining right, and no amalgamation or consolidation of a coal-mining lease, shall take effect until the instruments relating thereto or full particulars thereof have been laid before both Houses of Parliament. Either House may by resolution refuse to permit such assignment, transfer, amalgamation, or consolidation. If no such resolution is passed within ten days after the particulars aforesaid are laid before Parliament the assignment, transfer, amalgamation, or consolidation, as the case may be, shall take effect according to the terms thereof.

Subsection three of the last preceding section applies only in cases where the Minister has granted his consent unconditionally to an assignment or transfer of a coal-mining right or to an amalgamation or consolidation of a coal-mining lease.

In all cases where the Minister has granted his consent to any such assignment, transfer, amalgamation, or consolidation subject to conditions imposed by him, the provisions of this section shall apply in lieu of the provisions of subsection three of the last preceding section.

The Minister shall cause the instrument to which he has granted his consent, and a statement of the conditions imposed by him, to be laid before both Houses of Parliament within one month of such grant of consent, if Parliament be then sitting, or, if Parliament be not then sitting, within one month after the commencement of the then next ensuing session of Parliament.

Either House of Parliament may by resolution refuse to permit the assignment, transfer, amalgamation, or consolidation.

Both Houses of Parliament may by identical resolution dispense with or vary the conditions imposed by the Minister.

If no resolution refusing such permission is passed during that session of Parliament, the assignment, transfer, amalgamation, or consolidation, as the case may be, shall immediately after that session take effect according to the terms thereof, but subject to the conditions imposed by the Minister, except so far as such conditions shall have been dispensed with or varied by identical resolution of both Houses as aforesaid.

Every person taking the benefit of the assignment, transfer, amalgamation, or consolidation shall be deemed to have entered into a covenant with the Minister to perform the conditions imposed by the Minister, except so far as such conditions may have been dispensed with or varied as aforesaid, and shall be liable accordingly; and every coal-mining right or coal-mining lease the subject of such assignment, transfer, amalgamation, or consolidation shall be liable to forfeiture at the suit of the Minister if the conditions imposed by the Minister shall not be duly performed and complied with.

If the holder of a coal-prospecting license or a tramway-license fails substantially to comply with any of the conditions of his license, the Inspector or any other person who may be adversely affected by such non-compliance may make application to the Warden or Commissioner for the cancellation of the license. Notice of such application shall be given to the licensee in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed time. The application shall be heard at the time and place appointed by the Warden or Commissioner, who may, if satisfied that the licensee has substantially failed to comply with the conditions of his license, cancel the same.

At any hearing of an application for the cancellation of a license the Warden shall have power to award costs, but no costs shall be given against an Inspector.

Except as otherwise provided by this or any other Act, all rents, royalties, fees, and other moneys arising from any coal-mining right granted under the authority of this Act, or arising otherwise under this Part of this Act, shall be paid into the Public Account and form part of the Consolidated Fund.

The Warden within a mining district and the Commissioner of Crown Lands within any portion of a land district outside a mining district may, with the consent of the Minister, and subject to such conditions as he may impose, grant way-leaves either above or below ground for the passage of persons or material to or from a mine, and such other easements as are prescribed.

A way-leave or other easement may be granted in respect of any land over which coal-mining rights may be granted, but the granting thereof shall be subject to the same consents, if any, as in the case of the grant of coal-mining rights in respect of such land.

A way-leave or other easement shall be granted for such term and subject to such rent or royalty as the Warden or Commissioner determines.

There shall also be imposed such further terms and conditions as the Warden or Commissioner thinks fit.

The grant of a way-leave or other easement may be cancelled by the Warden or Commissioner on being satisfied that the grantee has failed substantially to comply with any of the conditions of the grant. Proceedings for the cancellation of a grant shall be taken in such manner as is prescribed.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by notice in the Gazette, reserve all such Crown lands, whether the same now are or at any time hereafter may be comprised in a coal-mining lease, as he considers necessary for the use of any railway, or for railway-stations, or for any railways, tramways, bridges, inclines, and staiths, or other means of transit between any coal-mine and any railway or tramway at any time constructed by the Minister of Public Works or by the lessee of any coal-mining lease; and thereafter the same shall be reserved and held for the purposes specified in such Gazette notice and no other.

Any reserve made under this section may be made to take effect during the currency of any coal-mining lease, or for such other period and upon such conditions as to the Governor-General may seem fit.

The provisions of the Public Works Act, 1908, relating to compensation shall apply in respect of all lands reserved or taken under this section.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by notice in the Gazette, revoke any reservation of land made under this section, and thereupon the land to which such revocation applies shall cease to be reserved.

Every owner of a coal-mine who without lawful authority in the course of working a seam of coal goes beyond the boundaries of his mine and takes any coal from under any Crown land or any foreshore vested in the Crown, or the bed of the sea, or under any navigable river, shall, in addition to any civil liability for conversion, be liable to the same penalty as for unlawful trespass on Crown lands.

There may from time to time be appointed a fit person to be Chief Inspector of Coal-mines, and such number of fit persons to be Inspectors of Coal-mines as may be required for the proper administration of this Act.

In addition to the powers specially conferred on him by this Act, the Chief Inspector of Coal-mines shall by virtue of his appointment have all the powers of and be deemed to be an Inspector of Coal-mines, and shall perform such duties and have such powers as the Minister may from time to time direct by writing under his hand.

The Chief Inspector of Coal-mines and the Inspectors shall be officers of the Public Service, and shall be subject to the provisions of the Acts relating to the Public Service.

No person shall be appointed to be an Inspector of Coal-mines unless he is the holder of a first-class mine-manager’s certificate under this Act:

Provided that an Inspector of Mines under the Mining Act, 1908, who is the holder of a first-class certificate as mine-manager under that Act may, if so authorized in writing by the Minister, act as an Inspector of Coal-mines under this Act, but his powers as Inspector of Coal-mines shall not extend to any coal-mine in which more than eight men are employed, or in which safety-lamps, other than those used in the daily examination of the mine, are required to be used.

No person shall be capable of being appointed to, or of continuing to hold, any office or employment under the Crown in connection with the administration of this Act while he or his wife, or any member of his family, has any pecuniary interest in or in connection with any coal-mine or in any coal-mining right.

No Inspector shall act or practise as a land agent, or as a mine-manager, or as agent of an owner, or as a mining engineer, or as a valuer of land, or arbitrator in any matter of dispute arising between owners of mines, or be employed in any way in any mine otherwise than in his official capacity under this Act.

Every Inspector of Coal-mines may, at all reasonable times by day or by night, but so as not to impede or obstruct the working of the mine, enter and inspect any coal-mine, and may from time to time make such examination and inquiry as may be necessary to ascertain whether the provisions of this Act are being complied with, and whether sufficient steps are being taken to ensure the safety of the persons employed in or about the mine or any mine contiguous thereto.

Inspectors of Coal-mines shall have such other powers as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Act or as may be prescribed.

Every Inspector of Coal-mines shall, with respect to the machinery (other than steam-engines and boilers) in the coal-mine, have all the powers of an Inspector under the Inspection of Machinery Act, 1908; but nothing in this Act shall be deemed to abridge or annul any of the provisions of the Inspection of Machinery Act, 1908, or to affect the duties of any Inspectors appointed under that Act in relation to the inspection in mines of machinery and boilers coming within the operation of that Act.

Immediately upon any person employed in or about a mine making a complaint to an Inspector of any breach of the provisions of this Part of this Act it shall be the duty of such Inspector to make inquiry into the matter of such complaint, and to take such other steps as he may deem necessary to investigate the matter, and the name of the informant shall not be divulged by the Inspector.

It shall be the duty of the Inspector to see with respect to every mine under his supervision that the provisions of this Part of this Act and of any general or special regulations are duly complied with.

It shall be the duty of the Inspector to prosecute every person whom he believes to have committed, within the district in which such Inspector exercises his functions, any serious breach of any provision of this Part of this Act, or of any regulation or special regulation made under this Act, unless he is satisfied that the appropriate proceedings in respect of such breach have been instituted and are being duly carried on by some other person empowered in that behalf:

Provided that no person shall be punished twice for one and the same offence.

The Chief Inspector and every Inspector shall, on or before the first day of April in every year, make a report in writing of his proceedings during the year ended on the preceding thirty-first day of December, and transmit the same to the Under-Secretary of Mines.

For the purpose of conducting examinations prescribed by this Act and of issuing certificates of competency in connection therewith there is hereby constituted a Board of Examiners, which shall consist of—

The persons referred to in paragraph (e) of the last preceding subsection shall be appointed for a term of three years, but may at any time be removed from office by the Governor-General, and may from time to time be reappointed on the expiry of any term of appointment:

Provided that the persons who at the commencement of this Act hold office on the Board of Examiners under the corresponding provisions of the Coal-mines Act, 1908, may continue in office for a period of three years from the said commencement, and shall then, unless reappointed hereunder, retire from office.

One of the members of the Board to be named by the Governor-General shall be Chairman.

Save as otherwise provided in this Act or as may be prescribed, the Board shall regulate its own procedure.

There may from time to time be appointed a Secretary to the Board.

The Board shall, at such intervals as the Minister may determine, make to him a report of its proceedings and of such other matters as he may require.

There shall be the following descriptions of certificates of competency granted under this Act after examination:—

No person shall be qualified to be a candidate for examination for a certificate of competency as mine-manager unless he—

No person shall be qualified to be a candidate for examination for a certificate of competency as an underviewer or as a fireman-deputy unless he is the holder of a certificate or certificates from his previous employer or employers showing that he has been actually engaged in underground workings in a coal-mine for a period of not less than three years in the case of a person already holding a mine-manager’s certificate granted after examination under the Mining Act, 1908, and of not less than five years in any other case, the period including in each case at least twenty-four months’ experience in working at the face.

Applications for examination under this Act shall be made in the prescribed manner, and shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

Examinations under this Act shall be conducted in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed by regulations, which may also fix, subject to the provisions of this Act, the nature and scope of the examinations, the qualifications of candidates, and the minimum standard to be attained by successful candidates for certificates of competency.

The Board of Examiners shall hold examinations at such times and at such places as may be fixed by the Board, subject to the approval of the Minister.

The Board may, subject to the approval of the Minister, appoint, remove, and reappoint, either from its own members or from outside its members, examiners to conduct examinations.

The Board of Examiners may, on payment of the prescribed fee, grant a certificate of competency as mine-manager, underviewer, or fireman-deputy without examination to an applicant resident in New Zealand who is the holder of a certificate of corresponding class granted in any British possession or foreign country, if the Board is satisfied that the applicant is of good character and repute, and that the standard of training and examination required for the grant of such a certificate is equivalent to that required for the grant of a corresponding certificate under this Act:

Provided that before granting a certificate in terms of this section the Board shall satisfy itself, in such manner as it thinks fit, that the applicant therefor is fully cognizant of the provisions of this Act relating to the regulation of coal-mines.

Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the Board of Examiners may refuse a certificate of competency upon any grounds it deems advisable.

There shall be kept in such manner as may be prescribed a register of the holders of certificates of competency granted under this Act.

Whenever any person proves to the satisfaction of the Board of Examiners that he has, without fault on his part, lost or been deprived of any certificate granted to him under this Act, the Board shall, on payment of such fee (if any) as may be prescribed, cause a copy of the certificate to which the applicant appears by the register to be entitled to be made out and certified by the person who keeps the register, and delivered to the applicant; and any copy which purports to be so made and certified as aforesaid shall have all the effect of the original certificate.

Every person who makes any false or fraudulent representation or produces to the Board a false certificate for the purpose of securing a certificate of competency under this Act commits an offence, and is liable to a penalty of fifty pounds.

If at any time representation is made to the Minister, whether following on a report by an Inspector or otherwise, that any person holding a certificate of competency under this Act is unfit to hold such certificate by reason of incompetency or gross negligence or misconduct in any capacity or in the performance of duties in a mine which possession of the said certificate entitles him to act in or perform, or by reason of his having been convicted of an offence against this Act or any enactment repealed by this Act, the Minister may, if he thinks fit, cause inquiry to be made into the conduct of that person, and with respect to every such inquiry the following provisions shall have effect:—

Where a certificate of competency under this Act is cancelled or suspended in pursuance of this Act, the Minister shall notify the Board of Examiners, which shall cause the cancellation or suspension to be recorded in the register of holders of certificates.

The Board of Examiners, with the approval of the Minister, may at any time, if it appears to be just so to do, renew or restore, on such terms as it thinks fit, any certificate which has been cancelled or suspended in pursuance of this Act, and cause the renewal or restoration to be recorded in the register.

There shall be for every coal-mine a duly qualified manager, who shall be either the owner of the mine or some person appointed by the owner, and who shall be responsible for the control, management, and direction of the mine. The manager shall exercise daily personal supervision of the mine.

No person shall be appointed as manager of a coal-mine who is a contractor for winning the coal from the mine or is an employee of such contractor.

The name and address of the manager of every coal-mine for the time being shall be notified in writing to the Minister and to the Inspector within seven days of his taking up his duties as manager.

If any mine is worked for more than three days without there being such a manager for that mine as is required by this section, the owner or agent of such mine shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, and to a further fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day during which such mine is so worked.

If any mine-manager is incapacitated from performing his duties, or is about to be absent from the mine for more than three days, he or the owner or agent of the mine shall in writing appoint some person, approved by the Inspector, to act as deputy manager during such incapacity or absence; but no such deputy shall act for more than fourteen days unless authorized so to do by the Inspector.

The name of the manager of the mine for the time being shall be posted and kept posted at the entrance to the mine.

The following are the qualifications that are required to be held by the managers of coal-mines:—

A permit under paragraph (e) of the last preceding subsection shall in the case of a mine of which all the workings are opencast be granted only to a person who during the ten years immediately preceding the application for the permit has had at least three years’ practical experience in opencast workings in a coal-mine, and in the case of every other mine referred to in the said paragraph shall be granted only to a person who during the ten years immediately preceding the application for the permit has had at least three years’ practical experience in underground workings in a coal-mine, and who is the holder of a certificate of competency for gas-testing.

A permit granted under the last preceding subsection shall be effective only with respect to the mine named therein, and may, with the approval of the Minister, be cancelled by the Inspector if the holder thereof is by reason of incompetency, or gross negligence, or misconduct in the performance of duties under this Act unfit to continue to hold a permit.

For every mine there shall be appointed by the manager in writing a sufficient number of duly qualified underviewers, firemen-deputies, or other officials to make such inspections and carry out such other duties as are prescribed to be made or carried out by the said officials:

Provided that nothing herein shall prevent the manager from himself acting in the capacity of one or more of the aforesaid officials if compliance with the requirements of the Act as to the making of such inspections or the carrying-out of such duties or of the duties of manager is not thereby detrimentally affected.

Every person employed or acting as an underviewer in a coal-mine shall be the holder of a certificate of competency as an underviewer under this Act or of a higher certificate, and every person employed or acting as a fireman-deputy in a coal-mine shall be the holder of a certificate of competency as a fireman-deputy or of a higher certificate:

Provided that the holder of a certificate of service as underviewer or fireman-deputy granted under the provisions of section two of the Coal-mines Amendment Act, 1910, may act or be employed as underviewer or fireman-deputy, as the case may be, in a coal-mine:

Provided further that a person acting as manager of a mine under a permit granted pursuant to section sixty hereof may also act as underviewer or fireman-deputy of the mine though not possessing a certificate of competency as aforesaid.

No person who has entered into a contract for carrying out any work connected with a mine shall during the currency of that contract be employed or act as underviewer or fireman-deputy in that mine.

If any underviewer or fireman-deputy is incapacitated from performing his duties, or is about to be absent from the mine, for more than three days, the manager of the mine shall, in writing, appoint some person approved by an Inspector to act as the deputy of that official during his incapacity or absence; but no such deputy shall act for more than twenty-one days without the consent of the Inspector.

No person shall be employed or allowed to act or shall act as engine-driver in charge of any winding-engine or winding machinery used for raising or lowering persons or materials to or from the surface in a shaft or pit, or for conveying persons along any inclined plane or level, unless he is the holder of a winding-engine driver’s certificate granted in terms of the Inspection of Machinery Act, 1908, in respect of winding-engines in coal-mines:

Provided that the holder of an engine-driver’s certificate granted under any of the Acts repealed by the Coal-mines Act, 1905, shall also be qualified to act as engine-driver in charge of a winding-engine or winding machinery in a coal-mine.

In every mine the person in charge of the winding-engine or winding machinery shall be appointed in writing by the manager, and is hereinafter referred to as the winding-engineman.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section eighty-seven of this Act, a winding-engineman shall not be employed or continue to be employed as such in a mine unless he produces or has produced to the mine-manager a written certificate by a registered medical practitioner showing that he has within a year last past been medically examined by such medical practitioner for heart-weakness, liability to fits, and defective hearing and vision, and that he was found on such examination to be sufficiently free from all such defects to be with safety in charge of a winding-engine or winding machinery:

Provided that if the medical practitioner making such examination includes in his certificate a statement that in his opinion the person examined will not require re-examination for the purposes of this section for a period to be mentioned in the certificate (not exceeding three years from the date of the examination), then such certificate shall be a sufficient certificate under this section for that period.

Every winding-engineman employed at a mine shall at any time, on being requested so to do by the Inspector, produce his said certificate to him.

The owner shall pay the cost of every such examination made while the winding-engineman is employed at the mine of such owner.

No female and no boy shall be employed in any capacity in or about any mine.

No youth shall be employed at any time as lander or banksman at the top of any shaft in a mine, or as head banksman at the surface of any mine where coal is raised by mechanical dip haulage, or as an onsetter at the entrance to a shaft.

No person under the age of twenty-one years shall be placed in charge of or have the control of any steam-engine or boiler used in connection with the working of any mine.

Where on any haulage-road the haulage is effected by means of any machinery worked either by mechanical power or by animal or manual power, the person in charge of such machinery, and, if persons are being conveyed, the person in charge of any part of the machinery, ropes, chains, or tackle connected therewith, must be a competent person not less than eighteen years of age. The foregoing provision shall not apply in the case of machinery worked by an engine of not more than ten horse-power and used for the purpose of hauling mineral from the face.

Subject to the following provisions of this section, a miner shall not be put in charge of any place in a mine unless he is of the age of twenty-one years or upwards and has had at least two years’ experience in underground coal-mining, of which at least twelve months shall have been at the face with an experienced coal-miner, or has had at least two and a half years’ experience in driving, stopping, timbering, or shaft-sinking, or in rises or winzes in connection with underground metalliferous mining, together with twelve months’ experience at the face with an experienced coal-miner in underground coal-mining:

Provided that where each place in a mine is worked by only one miner the above requirement that the miner in charge shall have had at least twelve months’ experience at the face with an experienced miner may be relaxed by the Inspector in such cases as he considers necessary, but in no case unless he is satisfied that the work of the miner in charge of the place can be adequately supervised by an experienced miner.

The Governor-General may from time to time appoint one or more Judges of the Supreme Court to be a Commission, which shall have all the powers and authorities of a Commission appointed under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908, and may direct such Commission to report to him upon the question whether circumstances have arisen and continue to exist which render it necessary in the public interest that the restrictions imposed by the last preceding subsection should be relaxed, and, if so, to advise as to the duration and extent of such relaxation.

If the report of the Commission is favourable to such relaxation the Minister may, for the period and to the extent recommended by the Commission, and subject to such other conditions as he may think fit to impose, consent to the relaxation of the restrictions imposed by subsection one hereof.

No youth shall be employed in a mine for more than forty-eight hours in any week, exclusive of the time allowed for meals, nor more than eight hours in any day, except in cases of emergency.

No person in charge of steam machinery used in connection with any mine or for the treatment in or about any mine of the products of the mine shall be employed for more than eight consecutive hours at any time.

Any such person who has continuously worked for eight hours shall not resume work until after an interval of not less than four hours.

Such period of eight hours shall be exclusive of any time occupied in raising steam and in drawing fires and exhausting steam in connection with the machinery in charge of such person, and exclusive of meal-hours and of any time in which such person is employed in case of breakage or other emergency.

Every employer or person employed who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of an offence against this Act.

If any such person as aforesaid is employed on seven consecutive days in each week of the year, he shall be entitled to not less than twelve half-days or six full days of holidays during the year.

In this and the last preceding section “week” means the period beginning at midnight on Saturday night and ending at midnight on the succeeding Saturday night.

Except in cases where the previous authority in writing of an Inspector has been obtained, it shall not be lawful for any person to directly or indirectly employ any workman on Sunday for hire or reward to do any skilled or unskilled manual labour in or about any mine.

No Inspector shall give any such authority as aforesaid except in cases where he is satisfied that the labour cannot be suspended on Sunday without risk of injury to the mine or its operations; and when giving such authority he shall in each case state in writing his reasons for granting such authority, and shall specify the number of workmen that may be employed, and the nature of their employment, and the period during which such authority shall extend.

There shall be the right of appeal to the Warden or to a Magistrate, as the case may be, from the decision of any Inspector in respect of the granting or refusing of an authority under this section.

If any workman is employed in breach of this section the owner of the mine, whether directly or indirectly employing him, any person other than the owner directly employing him, and the manager of the mine are severally liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds:

Provided that it shall be a sufficient defence to a prosecution under this section if the Court is satisfied that the employment was rendered necessary by reason of breakage or other special emergency involving danger to life or damage to property.

Nothing herein shall be construed to affect the operation of section four of the Police Offences Amendment Act, 1924:

Provided that no person shall be punished twice for the same offence.

A miner shall be paid overtime when he is employed underground in a mine for more than eight hours in any day, counting from the time he enters the underground working of the mine to the time he leaves the same. Such overtime shall be paid at the rate of not less than time and a quarter for all time worked in excess of the said eight hours, and shall be payable notwithstanding the provisions of any award or industrial agreement now or hereafter to be in force. Every miner employed on Sundays or holidays shall be paid at the rate of not less than one and a half times his ordinary wages.

Every miner shall be allowed at least thirty minutes out of every working-day of eight hours for crib-time, notwithstanding the provisions of any award or industrial agreement.

For the purposes of this section “miner” means any workman employed underground in a mine.

All wages payable to the workmen employed in or about any mine shall, if so requested by a majority of such workmen, be paid either at the mine or at some place not more than two miles from the mine.

No wages or contract-money shall be paid to any person employed in or about any mine at or within any publichouse, or place for the sale of any spirits, beer, wine, cider, or other spirituous or fermented liquor, or other house of entertainment, or any office, garden, or place belonging or contiguous thereto or occupied therewith.

Every person who contravenes or fails to comply with, or permits any person to contravene or fail to comply with, this section is guilty of an offence against this Act; and, in the event of any such contravention or non-compliance by any person whomsoever, the owner, agent, and manager of the mine are each personally guilty of an offence against this Act, unless he proves that he had taken all reasonable means, by publishing and to the best of his power enforcing the provisions of this section, to prevent such contravention or non-compliance.

Where the amount of wages paid to any of the persons employed in a mine depends on the amount of mineral won by them, the mineral shall be weighed, and such persons shall be paid according to the weight of the mineral won by them:

Provided that nothing herein shall be so construed as to render the owner, agent, or manager liable to pay for stones or materials other than the mineral contracted to be won sent out from the mine and weighed with such mineral.

Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this section, there may be fixed, pursuant to an award of the Arbitration Court, or to an agreement between the owner, agent, or manager and the persons engaged in winning the mineral, or to a decision of the Inspector as hereinafter set out, a maximum weight of mineral to be loaded in each tub, and in computing the sum payable to the person winning the mineral there may be deducted from the weight thereof any amount in excess of the maximum weight fixed as aforesaid:

Provided that the sum that would have been payable in respect of the excess weight deducted as aforesaid shall be paid by the owner, agent, or manager to the Coal-miners’ Relief Fund to which payments are required to be made by the owner of the coal-mine in terms of section one hundred and fifty-two hereof, or, if a medical club has been formed in connection with the mine and a majority of the men engaged in winning the mineral so decide, then to the medical club.

Where the question of the maximum weight of mineral to be loaded in tubs is in dispute (otherwise than in the course of proceedings before the Arbitration Court) between the owner, agent, or manager and the persons engaged in winning the mineral, and no agreement can be reached, the matter shall be determined by the Inspector; but nothing herein shall be deemed to restrict the power of the Inspector to regulate the loading of tubs in any manner in the interests of safety.

If any person contravenes or fails to comply with, or permits any person to contravene or fail to comply with, this section he is guilty of an offence against this Act; and, in the event of any contravention of or non-compliance with this section by any person whomsoever, the owner, agent, and manager are each guilty of an offence against this Act, unless he proves that he had taken all reasonable means, by publishing and to the best of his power enforcing the provisions of this section, to prevent such contravention or non-compliance.

The persons employed in a mine who are paid according to the weight of the mineral won by them may, at their own cost, station a person (in this Act referred to as a check-weigher) at the place appointed for the weighing of such mineral in order to take an account of the weight thereof, and if in any mine reasonable facilities are not afforded to him for taking such account the owner, agent, and manager of such mine shall each be guilty of an offence against this Act.

The check-weigher shall not be authorized in any way to impede or interrupt the working of the mine or to interfere with the weighing, but shall be authorized only to take such account as aforesaid, and his absence shall not be a reason for interrupting or delaying such weighing.

If a check-weigher impedes or interrupts the working of the mine, or interferes with the weighing, or otherwise misconducts himself, the owner, agent, or manager of the mine may complain to the nearest Warden’s or Magistrate’s Court, as the case may be, which, if it thinks fit, may call upon the check-weigher to show cause against his removal.

Such Court shall hear the parties, and, if it thinks that sufficient ground is shown to justify the removal of the check-weigher, may make a summary order for his removal, and he shall thereupon be removed.

The Court may in every case make such order as to the cost of the proceedings as it thinks just.

The payment of a check-weigher appointed by the persons employed in a mine shall be a charge upon every miner employed in such mine and hewing coal by weight in the said mine, and may be recovered from any such miner.

If the persons employed in a mine are paid by the measure or gauge of the material won by them the provisions of the two last preceding sections shall apply in like manner as if the term “weighing” included measuring and gauging, and the terms relating to weighing shall be construed accordingly.

The owner, agent, or manager of every mine where there are underground workings in which more than six men are employed shall keep at the office of the mine a full and accurate plan of the workings of the mine, showing, in addition to the workings,—

Every plan prepared pursuant to the last preceding subsection shall be revised from time to time so that on any given date it shall have been corrected to a date not more than three months prior thereto.

The owner, agent, or manager of every such mine shall also keep in the office at the mine a separate plan showing the system of ventilation in the mine, and in particular the general direction of the currents, the points where the quantity of air is measured, and the principal devices for the regulation and distribution of the air. On every such plan the intake airways shall be coloured blue and the return airways red.

Each of the plans mentioned in the foregoing provisions of this section shall be made to a scale of not less than two chains to an inch, and shall be prepared by or under the supervision of a competent person possessing the prescribed qualifications, who shall sign and date the same. If more than one survey is shown on the plan each survey shall be distinctively indicated in different colours or by approved marking and dating, and shall be separately signed and dated as aforesaid.

The owner, agent, or manager of every such mine as aforesaid shall also keep in the office at the mine a section of the strata sunk through at each shaft and borehole; or, if that is not practicable, a section of every seam.

If the owner, agent, or manager of any mine fails to keep at the office of the mine plans and sections as required herein he shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable to a fine of twenty pounds for every day during which such default continues.

A copy of the plan referred to in subsection one of the last preceding section, showing the workings of the mine as on a day to be specified thereon (being in every case a day within the sixty days immediately preceding the date of the despatch of the plan as herein required), shall be forwarded to the Inspector not later than the thirty-first day of December in each year:

Provided that if in any year the amount of coal removed from a mine exceeds twelve thousand tons a copy of the plan as aforesaid shall be forwarded to the Inspector twice in the next ensuing year, the first copy being forwarded not later than the last day of June, and the second not later than the last day of December, but so that there is an interval of not less than six months between the date of the first copy and the date of the second.

If the owner, agent, or manager of any mine fails to forward to the Inspector a copy of any plan as required by this section he shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds for every day during which such default continues.

If the Inspector has reason to think that any copy of the plan forwarded to him as aforesaid is incorrect the Minister may, if he thinks fit, cause a check survey to be made, and if thereupon the said copy of the plan proves to be incorrect in any material respect the owner, agent, or manager of the mine in which the said check survey is made shall be liable to pay all the costs and charges of making such check survey or in connection therewith, and such costs and charges may be recovered as a debt due to the Crown.

The owner, agent, or manager of every mine shall, in the months of July and January in every year, send to the Inspector correct half-yearly returns for the preceding six months respectively ending on the last day of the previous months of June and December, specifying the quantity of coal or other mineral produced from such mine, and the number of persons ordinarily employed in or about such mine, below ground and above ground respectively, together with any other information connected with the mine which the Minister may at any time require.

Where the owner of the mine is a limited company, there shall also be forwarded at the same times in each year to the Under-Secretary a return specifying the rate of the dividends and bonuses declared by the company and the total amount paid in dividends and bonuses during the preceding six months.

The returns shall be in such form as may be prescribed from time to time, and forms for the purpose of such returns may be obtained on application to the Under-Secretary; and the Minister may publish the particulars furnished in such returns.

Every owner, agent, or manager of a mine who fails to comply with this section, or wilfully or negligently makes any false return, shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

When any working is commenced for the purpose of opening a new shaft, outlet, or seam of any mine, the owner, agent, or manager shall give notice thereof in writing to the Inspector within one month after the commencement.

The owner, agent, or manager of every mine shall keep at the mine a register, and shall cause to be entered in such register the name, age, residence, and date of first employment of all youths who are employed in the mine below ground, and the full name and the date and place of birth of every miner for the time being employed at hewing coal in the mine who is under the age of twenty-one years.

All such books and records as are by this Act required to be kept at a mine shall be provided by the owner, agent, or manager, and shall be in the prescribed form; and the books and records, or a copy of them, shall be kept at the office of the mine; and the Inspector, and any person appointed by the Minister, and any person employed in the mine, may at all reasonable times inspect and take copies of and extracts from any such books and records.

For the purpose of making known the provisions of this Act and of any general or special regulations thereunder to all persons employed in or about a mine, a copy of the provisions of the Act relating to safety or of a prescribed abstract of the Act, and an entire copy of the general regulations and of the special regulations (if any) applicable to the mine, shall be published as follows:—

The Weights and Measures Act, 1908, shall apply to the weights and weighing-machines used in or at any mine for weighing mineral; and the Inspector of Weights and Measures shall, as often as may be required and not less than once in every twelve months, without unnecessarily impeding or interrupting the working of the mine, inspect and examine in manner directed by the said Act the weighing-machines and weights so used, or the measures or gauges used at or in such mine in lieu of weights.

Save as otherwise provided in section sixty-five hereof, it shall not be lawful for the owner, agent, or manager of any [mine or for any person in charge of a mine to require any person who is employed in the mine, or applying to be so employed, to be medically examined or to produce a medical certificate that he is in a good or sound state of health.

Every person who commits a breach of this section is liable for a first offence to a fine of fifty pounds, and for the second or any subsequent offence to a fine of one hundred pounds.

The owner, agent, or manager of a coal-mine shall, if requested by the secretary of the local coal-miners’ union, supply him with a copy of the latest issue of dockets given to each of those employees of the mine who are subject to an award of the Arbitration Court, showing in respect of each such employee the hours worked, the amount of work performed, and the amount earned.

The manager of a mine shall take such steps as are necessary for enforcing the observance in the mine of the provisions of this Act and of the general and special regulations thereunder.

No person employed in any mine to carry out any specific duty shall depute any other person to carry out that duty without the sanction of the manager or other official of the mine authorized to give such sanction.

An adequate amount of ventilation shall be produced in every mine to dilute and render harmless inflammable and noxious gases to such an extent that all shafts, roads, levels, stables, and workings of the mine shall be in a fit state for working and passing therein, and, in particular, that the intake airways up to within one hundred yards of the first working-place at the working-face which the air enters shall be normally kept free from inflammable gas. Such ventilation shall be produced continuously during all times when there are any persons in the mine, and also during such other times as may be prescribed:

Provided that an abandoned road or a level not used in connection with the working of the mine shall, if properly fenced off, not be deemed to be a road or level within the meaning of this section.

For the purpose of the last preceding subsection a place shall not he deemed to be in a fit state for working or passing therein if the air contains either less than nineteen per centum of oxygen or more than one per centum of carbon dioxide:

Provided that the Minister may, by warrant under his hand, and subject to any conditions specified in the said warrant, exempt any mine from the provisions of this subsection on the ground that the coal therein is particularly liable to spontaneous combustion. Where any such conditions are so specified, the mine shall be deemed to be exempted as aforesaid only while such conditions are duly complied with:

Provided also that the Minister may at any time revoke any such warrant

In every mine the quantity of air in the main current and in every split, and at such other points as may be determined by regulations, shall be measured at least once in every month, and a record thereof, and also of the number of persons and horses ordinarily in each split at one time, shall be entered in a book to be kept for that purpose at the mine.

Subject to the requirement of the last preceding section to produce an adequate amount of ventilation, the amount of air passing into the mine shall be such amount as may be prescribed by regulations for the classification of mines:

Provided that in no case shall less than one hundred and fifty cubic feet of air per minute be provided for every person, and six hundred cubic feet of air per minute be provided for every horse or other animal, while employed underground.

The total number of persons ordinarily employed in any ventilation district in a mine shall not, without the consent in writing of the Inspector, exceed fifty at any one time, and in no case shall the number exceed seventy.

The main airways of a mine shall be so arranged that the main intake airway shall not at any point, except at an air-crossing, be less than fifty feet from the main return airway. This subsection shall not apply in respect of main airways driven before the sixth day of November, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, but in respect of such airways thereafter extended it shall apply to the portions so extended.

In every mine all stoppings between main intake airways and main return airways, and all air-crossings, shall be constructed of non-inflammable materials in such manner as may be prescribed. With respect to stoppings and air-crossings in a mine constructed before the sixth day of November, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, and which do not comply with the requirements of this subsection, the owner shall effect compliance therewith within three years from that date.

Where a fire is used for ventilation in any mine the return air shall be carried off clear of the fire by means of a dumb drift or airway, unless the mine is one in which there is not, nor at any time has been, any inflammable gas.

Where a mechanical contrivance for ventilation is used at any mine it shall not be placed beneath the surface:

Provided that this provision shall not be construed as preventing mechanical contrivances for ventilation being placed underground either—

In every mine in which a mechanical contrivance for ventilation is used there shall, unless written exemption is given by the Minister, be provided and maintained in a condition to be put into immediate operation adequate means for reversing the air-current.

No fire or furnace shall hereafter be placed underground in any mine.

No lamp or light other than a locked safety-lamp shall be allowed or used—

Where, in pursuance of this Act or of the general or special regulations, the use of safety-lamps has been introduced in any part of a ventilating district, it shall not be lawful to use naked lights in any other part of the same ventilating district situated between the place where such lamps are used and the main return airway, unless the use of safety-lamps in that part of the district was introduced merely as a temporary precaution and the conditions are not, in the opinion of the Inspector, such as to render necessary the introduction of the use of safety-lamps throughout the district:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit the establishment and use in any mine of properly appointed and equipped lamp-stations for the purpose of relighting safety-lamps.

Where, in pursuance of this Act or of the general or special regulations, the use of safety-lamps has been introduced otherwise than as a temporary precaution against apprehended danger in any part of a mine, no lamp or light other than a locked safety-lamp shall subsequently be allowed or used in that part without the sanction of the Inspector.

The average percentage of inflammable gas found in six samples of air taken by an Inspector at intervals of not less than a fortnight in the air-current in the return airway in the ventilating district shall for the purposes of paragraph (a) of subsection one hereof be deemed to be the percentage normally contained in the air.

Wherever safety-lamps are required by this Act or the general or special regulations to be used, no safety-lamp shall be used by any person employed in the mine unless it is provided by the owner, and is of a type for the time being approved by the Minister.

Where safety-lamps are required to be used as aforesaid the following provisions shall apply:—

In any mine or part of a mine in which safety-lamps are required by this Act or by any general or special regulations to be used, no person shall have in his possession a naked light, or any lucifer match, or any apparatus of any kind for producing a light or spark (except so far as may be authorized by this Act or by regulations thereunder, or by the Minister), or any cigar, cigarette, pipe, or contrivance for smoking.

The manager of a mine in which, or in any part of which, safety-lamps are required by this Act or by the general or special regulations to be used shall, for the purpose of ascertaining before the persons employed below ground in the mine or in the part of the mine, as the case may be, commence work, whether they have in their possession any lucifer match, or such apparatus as aforesaid, or cigar, cigarette, pipe, or contrivance for smoking, cause either all those persons, or such of them as may be selected on a system approved by the Inspector, to be searched in the prescribed manner after or immediately before entering the mine or that part of the mine. The search shall be carried out at such times as the manager selects or the Inspector directs.

No person shall search any workmen in pursuance of this section unless he has previously given an opportunity to some two workmen employed in the mine to search himself, and no lucifer match, or such apparatus as aforesaid, and no cigar, cigarette, pipe, or contrivance for smoking, has been found on him.

Any person who refuses to allow himself to be searched in accordance with the foregoing provision shall be guilty of an offence against this Act, and shall not be allowed to enter the mine, or the part of the mine, as the case may be.

Within one year after commencing the working of any bords, stalls, or longwall workings in any mine there shall be made and completed at least two separate and distinct shafts or outlets to the surface from such mine, intercommunicating with each other, so that such shafts or outlets shall afford a separate means of ingress or egress available to the persons employed in such mine. Such shafts must not be nearer than fifty feet to each other:

Provided that the provisions of this subsection as to distance apart shall not apply to shafts sunk before the fourth day of August, nineteen hundred and eight.

The owner of any mine wherein such two shafts or outlets shall not be completed as aforesaid shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds for every week during which either remains uncompleted.

The provisions of this section shall not apply with respect to mines open at the commencement of this Act so long as not more than eight persons are employed below ground at any one time in the whole of the different seams in connection with a single shaft or outlet.

No person shall be precluded by any agreement from doing such acts as may be necessary for providing a second shaft or outlet to a mine where the same is required by this Act, or be liable under any contract to any penalty or forfeiture for doing such acts as may be necessary in order to comply with the provisions of this Act with respect to shafts or outlets.

The top and bottom of every working or pumping shaft, and all entrances into the workings therefrom, shall be properly and securely fenced or securely covered, but this provision shall not be taken to forbid the temporary removal of any fence or cover for the purpose of repairs or other operations if proper precautions are used.

Where the natural strata are not safe every working or pumping shaft shall be securely cased, lined, or otherwise made secure, such work in the case of a shaft being sunk being carried out as the work of sinking proceeds. For the purpose of enabling the provisions of this section to be complied with the owner shall cause an ample supply of sound good timber or other necessary material to be kept on the ground ready for immediate use.

Where one portion of a shaft is used for the ascent and descent of persons by ladders, and another portion of the same shaft is used for raising material or pumping, the first-mentioned portion shall be cased or otherwise securely fenced off separate from the last-mentioned portion.

Every pit-bank shall be properly covered to protect the workmen from the inclemency of the weather.

All persons working in shafts shall be protected from falls of material down the shaft by means of a roof or other suitable appliance erected overhead, unless in the opinion of the Inspector such precaution is unnecessary or impracticable.

Proper and separate apparatus for raising or lowering persons to or from the surface, of such a character as may be prescribed, shall be kept at each of the two shafts or outlets of a mine required by the foregoing provisions of this Act, and at any other shaft or outlet for the time being in use, for the purpose of ingress or egress; and such apparatus, if not in actual use, shall be kept in working-order so as to be constantly available for use; and no person shall, except for the purposes of sinking operations, or for the purpose of examining or repairing the shafts or outlets or the machinery or appliances therein, or for the purpose of accompanying animals or bulky material which cannot be raised or lowered in a cage, or where a written exemption is given by an Inspector, be raised or lowered otherwise than in a cage constructed in accordance with the provisions of this Act:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to any outlet by which persons can walk into or out of the mine otherwise than by ladders, or to any shaft not exceeding one hundred feet in depth:

Provided further that if apparatus for raising or lowering persons in a shaft not exceeding one hundred feet in depth is provided it shall be of such nature as is prescribed or is approved by the Inspector.

There shall be on the drum of every apparatus used for lowering or raising persons such flanges or horns, and also, if the drum is conical, such other appliances, as may be sufficient to prevent the rope from slipping.

There shall be attached to every apparatus worked by steam, water, or mechanical power and used for raising or lowering persons an adequate brake, and also a proper indicator (in addition to any mark on the rope) to show to the person who works the machine the position of the cage or load in the shaft.

Every winding-engine installed in a mine after the commencement of this Act and used for raising or lowering persons to or from the surface in shafts exceeding three hundred feet in depth shall be provided with an effective automatic contrivance to prevent over-winding.

Guides shall be provided in the case of every working-shaft or division of a shaft in which a cage is used, and in the case of every shaft in the course of being sunk after it has reached one hundred and fifty feet in depth, unless a written exemption is given by the Inspector.

Keps for supporting the cage when at rest shall be provided at the surface level where mineral is usually unloaded, but shall not be provided at any intermediate landings in the shaft. The keps provided at the surface level, and also the keps (if any) provided at the bottom of the shaft, shall be used when persons are entering or leaving the cage.

A winding-rope shall not be used for raising or lowering persons in a mine unless and until a full and accurate description of the rope has been supplied to the Inspector, and the Inspector has given authority in writing for the use of the rope as a winding-rope.

Every winding-rope shall be recapped at intervals of not more than six months; and no winding-rope which has been in use for more than three years and a half, or which has been spliced, shall be used for raising or lowering persons in a mine.

A single-linked chain shall not be used for raising or lowering persons in any working shaft or plane except for the short coupling-chain attached to the cage or load. When chains are employed as couplings to cages two single-linked chains of uniform size shall be used to each coupling. All chains in general use as couplings to cages shall be annealed from time to time at intervals not exceeding six months.

Every cage used in a mine shall be provided with catches or some other suitable contrivance to prevent tubs falling out, and if used for raising or lowering persons shall be covered in completely at the top and closed in at the two sides in a sufficient manner to prevent persons or things from projecting from beyond the sides, and shall be provided with suitable gates or other rigid fences, to be approved in writing by the Inspector, and with a rigid hand-bar fixed in a position where it can be easily reached by all persons in the cage. The top cover shall be constructed of iron not less than one-quarter part of an inch thick, and shall be securely hung on hinges and fitted with sloping sides, so as to be readily lifted upwards by persons within the cage.

Every cage used in a mine shall be fitted with a detaching-hook, and, unless written exemption is given by the Minister, shall also be fitted with a suitable appliance to prevent its sudden fall down a shaft. Before any such cage is first used it shall be tested in the presence of an Inspector, and it shall not be used unless and until the Inspector has given a certificate in writing that it is fitted with appliances as aforesaid and is in fit working-order.

The detaching-hook shall be tested by an actual overwind once at least in every three months, and shall be cleaned and refitted after such test by a competent person, who shall record the test in a book to be kept for the purpose.

There shall be not less than ten feet of clearance between the detaching-hook and the point of detachment when the cage is at the pit-top or uppermost landing. This provision shall not apply to headgears in existence on the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred and twenty, unless the Inspector certifies in writing that in his opinion the present clearance between the detaching-hook and the point of detachment is insufficient for safety.

No minerals, tubs, timber, or other materials, and no implements or tools other than scientific instruments, shall be raised or lowered whilst persons are being raised or lowered in the same shaft, whether in the same cage or not:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply in the case of men working in the shafts or in the case of men accompanying animals or bulky materials which cannot be raised or lowered in a cage.

Where a shaft is divided throughout by a substantial partition each section of the shaft shall for the purpose of the provisions of this section be deemed to be a separate shaft.

In any shaft exceeding twenty feet in depth, in which cages are not used, no person shall descend or ascend by the aid of apparatus for raising or lowering persons or material unless, in addition to the use of the loop, cross-bar, or other appliance, he is securely stayed to the rope employed for lowering or raising in such shaft by a strap or other fastening passing round the body under the arms; and such method of staying shall be used by every person who finds it necessary, in the execution of his duty, to descend or ascend a shaft on top of the cage-covers.

A proper ladder or footway shall be provided in every shaft in which a whim, whip, or windlass is used, and in every working pit or shaft where no apparatus is provided for raising or lowering persons employed therein.

Ladders (and, when necessary, convenient platforms connected therewith) shall be provided in each rise, upcast, or passage giving access to workings at a higher level in a mine; and a notice shall be posted at the foot of each such rise, upcast, or passage stating the height of such rise, upcast, or passage to the chamber or drive above.

A ladder permanently used for the ascent or descent of persons in a shaft shall not be fixed in a vertical or overhanging position, and shall be inclined at the most convenient angle which the space in which the ladder is fixed allows. Every such ladder shall have substantial platforms, at intervals of not more than thirty feet, and footholds of at least six inches in depth, and a suitable fixture for a hand-grip shall be placed above such ladder, for the use of persons ascending or descending the ladder.

In every haulage-road on which the haulage is worked by gravity or mechanical power, and along which persons travel, there shall be provided on one side of the road, at intervals of not more than twenty yards, sufficient manholes for places of refuge.

Every manhole referred to in the last preceding subsection shall be—

In every haulage-road along which persons travel and on which the haulage is worked by animal power and the amount drawn exceeds ten tons in any one hour over any part thereof, there shall be provided in such road, at intervals of not more than sixty-six yards, sufficient spaces for places of refuge. Each such space shall be of adequate length and height as approved by the Inspector, and shall be of such width as to allow at least three feet between the wagons running on the road and the side of the road.

Every manhole and space for a place of refuge shall be constantly kept clean, and no person shall place anything in a manhole or such space so as to prevent access thereto.

No person shall travel along any haulage-road when the haulage is in motion unless with the permission of the manager, which shall only be given when the road is of sufficient width to allow of men travelling safely along it on foot while the haulage is in motion.

This section shall not apply to any officials of the mine, or to a person employed on the haulage-road in connection with the haulage, or to a person engaged in carrying out any repair work required to be carried out urgently.

Every travelling-road shall he of adequate height, and if the height of any such road appears to the Inspector to be inadequate he may require the height to be increased to such an extent as he thinks proper, and the manager shall comply with the requisition.

Every road on which a horse or other animal is used underground, or by which it has to pass to get to its work, shall be of sufficient dimensions to allow the horse or other animal to pass without rubbing itself or its harness against the roof or sides, or the props and bars supporting the roof or sides.

All entrances to any place not in actual course of working and extension shall be properly fenced across the whole width of such entrance so as to prevent persons inadvertently entering the same.

The roof and sides of every travelling-road and working-place shall be made secure, and a person shall not, unless appointed for the purpose of exploring or repairing, travel on or work in any travelling-road or working-place which is not so made secure.

Where props, or props and bars, or chocks, are used to support the roof at the working-face, the roof under which any work of getting coal or filling tubs is carried on shall be systematically and adequately supported, and the props or chocks shall be properly set at such regular intervals and in such manner as may be specified in the notice hereinafter mentioned.

In all parts of a roadway in which sets or trains consisting of three or more tubs are coupled or uncoupled the roof and sides shall be systematically and adequately supported, and in such parts and in all other parts of the roadway the roof or sides of which require to be supported, if props or bars are used as supports, such supports shall be set at such regular intervals and in such manner as may be specified in the notice hereinafter mentioned.

The manager shall by notice specify the manner in which the supports are to be set and advanced, and the maximum intervals to be observed on roadways between the supports and at the face,—

Provided that the foregoing provision shall not apply to any place in which the top coal is being brought back and the height of the place is such that it is impracticable to set supports to the roof. In such place the manager shall make special provision for the proper safeguarding of the workmen, which provision shall be subject to review by the Inspector in terms of subsection five of this section.

Nothing in this section shall prevent a workman from setting supports in his working-place at more frequent intervals than those specified in the notice aforesaid, where necessary for safety.

If the Inspector considers that the system of supporting the roof and sides adopted in any part of a mine is unsatisfactory, either by reason of the intervals fixed or otherwise, he may require the manager to fix a less interval or otherwise modify the system, and the manager shall comply with the requisition.

The provisions of this section may with respect to any mine be superseded or varied by special regulations made as hereinafter set out and dealing with the support of the roof and sides in that mine.

Workmen shall, before commencing holing, set at least one sprag when the face of the coal does not exceed ten feet in width, and one additional sprag for every additional five feet or part of five feet, and shall afterwards keep them set during holing. After taking out the sprags or holing-props, if the coal or other mineral will not fall with wedging or from the effects of the shot, they shall not hole further until they have reset the sprags or holing-props.

A sufficient supply of timber or other materials suitable for supports shall be kept at or within ten yards of every working-place where, in pursuance of this Act, supports are required to be erected, and it shall be the duty of the underviewer and fireman-deputy to see that such sufficient supply is so kept.

The owner, agent, or manager of the mine shall constantly provide a sufficient supply of timber or other suitable materials to enable the underviewer and fireman-deputy to see that the requirements of this section are complied with.

In any part of the mine where any work is being carried out which necessitates the removal of roof-supports, temporary supports shall in all cases be set so as to secure the safety of the persons employed.

Where roof-supports require to be withdrawn from the waste or goaf such supports shall only be withdrawn by means of a safety contrivance:

Provided that when it is not safe or practicable to withdraw the supports from such waste or goaf by means of such safety contrivance the Inspector may permit a fireman-deputy to blast out such supports in manner laid down by him in writing.

There shall be in every mine an adequate system of signalling or telephonic communication between different parts of the mine, of such a nature and to such an extent as may be approved or directed by the Inspector, or as may be prescribed.

Every working-shaft and every shaft in the course of being sunk shall, if exceeding seventy-five feet in depth, be provided with some proper means of communicating distinct and definite signals from and to the bottom of the shaft, and from and to every entrance to the workings for the time being in use between the surface and the bottom of the shaft, to and from the surface.

There shall be in attendance at the top of every shaft by which any persons are about to be lowered into the mine a competent person for the purpose of receiving and transmitting signals; and, as long as persons are in the mine below ground, a competent person shall be in constant attendance for that purpose at the top of the shaft from which such persons are to be raised, and, unless all the persons in the mine are officials or persons authorized in writing by the manager to give signals, at every entrance from the workings in which such persons are engaged into the shaft from which such persons are to be raised.

All signals other than those relating to underground haulage transmitted to the surface shall be transmitted simultaneously to the winding-engineman and to the persons stationed as aforesaid at the top of the shaft.

Where winding in any shaft is by mechanical means there shall be provided some means of communicating a danger-signal to the winding-engineman from any part of the shaft.

A clear view shall be kept for the winding-engineman between his station and the landing-place at the surface.

All haulage plants, whether worked by gravity or mechanical power, and all jigs except face jigs, shall be fitted with adequate signalling appliances.

The code of signals for use in mines shall be such as is prescribed or is approved by the Inspector from time to time.

Particulars of the signalling-system and a copy of the code of signals in use at any mine shall be posted in clear and legible form on framed boards, which shall be set up in such places in the mine as the Inspector directs, including in every case the top and bottom of every shaft in which persons are or may be raised and lowered.

Every person employed in a mine shall make himself acquainted with the signalling-system and code of signals in use in the mine.

No oil or gas engine shall be used or taken for use underground in any mine.

Where any oil or gas engine is installed at the surface of any mine in a building or enclosed place adequate provision shall be made by means of an airtight pipe or flue to prevent the escape of the fumes or gases from such engine until conveyed beyond the building or place into the outside air.

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, make regulations governing the supply, use, and storage of explosives at mines or any class of mines, and may by such regulations prohibit, either absolutely or except in accordance with conditions laid down, the use of any explosive likely in his opinion to be dangerous in mines or any class of mines.

No explosives shall be taken into or used in any mine except explosives provided by the owner, and the price, if any, charged by the owner to a workman for any explosives shall not exceed the actual net cost to the owner.

Electricity shall not be used in any mine or part of a mine where, owing to the risk of explosion of gas or coal-dust, the use of electricity would be dangerous to life; and the Inspector may, on the above ground, prohibit the use of electricity in any mine or part thereof, or require the owner to desist from using electricity therein.

If at any time in any place in the mine the percentage of inflammable gas in the general body of air in that place is found to exceed one and a quarter, the electric current shall at once be cut off from all cables and other electrical apparatus in that place, and shall not be switched on again as long as the percentage of inflammable gas exceeds that amount:

Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to any telephone or signalling wires or instruments as long as the conditions prescribed with reference to the installation and use of such wires and instruments are complied with, or to any electric hand-lamps of a type for the time being approved.

Subject to the foregoing provisions, the installation and use of electricity in any mine shall be subject to such conditions as are prescribed.

In every mine, unless the floor, roof, and sides of the roads are naturally wet throughout,—

For the purpose of the inspections before the commencement of work in a shift hereinafter mentioned, one or more stations shall be appointed by the manager at the entrance to the mine or to different parts of the mine, as the case may require or as may be directed by the Inspector, and no workmen shall pass beyond any such station until the part of the mine beyond that station has been examined and reported to be safe in manner hereinafter mentioned.

The firemen-deputies of a mine shall, within the two hours immediately before the commencement of work in a shift, inspect with a locked safety-lamp every part of the mine in which workmen are to work or pass during the shift, and all working-places in which work is temporarily stopped within any ventilating district in which the men have to work during the shift, and shall ascertain the condition thereof with respect to the presence of gas, and to the ventilation, the condition of the roof and sides throughout such parts and places, and the general conditions from the point of view of the safety of the mine and of the men employed therein.

A full and accurate report, specifying whether or not any noxious or inflammable gas was found, and, if so, where such gas was so found, and whether or not any defects in the roof or sides or any other sources of danger were observed, and, if so, the nature of all such defects or sources of danger, shall be recorded without delay in a book which shall be kept at the mine for the purpose, and shall be accessible to the workmen; and such report shall be signed by and, so far as the same does not consist of printed matter, shall be in the handwriting of the person who made the inspection.

In addition to any other examinations and tests elsewhere specifically required by this Act to be carried out the following shall be carried out in every mine in manner herein set out:—

Every person who makes any examination or carries out any test as aforesaid shall make a full and accurate report of the result of the examination or test, and every such report shall be recorded without delay in a book to be kept at the mine for the purpose and accessible to the workmen, and shall be signed by the person who made the examination or carried out the test.

The workmen employed in a mine may at their own cost appoint not more than two persons (whether employed in the said mine or not) who have had at least three years’ practical experience in a mine as coal-hewers to inspect the mine on their behalf:

Provided that no discharged employee of the mine shall be so appointed except with the consent of the manager of the mine. In the event of such consent being withheld the matter may be referred by either party to the Warden, whose decision shall be final.

The names of the persons so appointed (hereinafter referred to as workmen’s inspectors) shall be notified to the manager and to the Inspector.

The workmen’s inspectors shall be allowed to make an inspection of every part of the mine, and of its machinery and workings, once in every fortnight:

Provided that before making any such inspection due notice shall be given to the mine-manager of their intention.

The workmen’s inspectors shall also be allowed to make an inspection as aforesaid at any reasonable time on receiving written notice from two or more workmen employed in the mine that the mine or any part thereof is, to the best of their belief and on the grounds disclosed in their notice, in a condition dangerous to life:

Provided that before making any such inspection the workmen’s inspectors shall first notify the mine-manager in writing of the time of their intended inspection and of the dangerous condition which is alleged to exist.

The mine-manager shall give the workmen’s inspectors full and free facilities for making any inspection authorized by this Act, and may himself accompany them on any such inspection, or may appoint some person or persons to do so.

The workmen’s inspectors shall forthwith make a full and accurate report in writing of the result of their inspection, and shall immediately thereafter furnish a copy of such report to the mine-manager, who shall cause the same to be recorded in a book to be kept for the purpose at the office of the mine; and if the report is to the effect that the mine or any part thereof is in a condition dangerous to life, or that any dangerous practice exists in the working of the mine, the mine-manager shall forthwith forward a true copy of the report to the Inspector; if such inspection occupies more than one day, a separate report as aforesaid shall be made for each day of such inspection.

The workmen’s inspectors shall, while making any inspection for the purposes’ of this section, be deemed to be workers employed by the owner of the mine within the meaning of the Workers’ Compensation Act, 1922.

If at any time the person for the time being in charge of the mine or of any part thereof has reason to believe that, by reason of the prevalence of inflammable or noxious gases or of any cause whatever, the mine or any place in the mine is dangerous, he shall withdraw every workman from the mine or from such place, as the case may be; and a fireman-deputy, or other competent person authorized by the manager or underviewer for the purpose, shall inspect the mine or place, and if the danger arises from inflammable gas shall inspect the mine or place with a locked safety-lamp, and in every case shall make a full and accurate report of the condition of the mine or place; and a workman shall not, except in so far as is necessary for inquiring into the cause of danger, or for the removal thereof, or for exploration, be readmitted into the mine or place until the same is reported by the person who made the inspection not to be dangerous.

For the purposes of this section a place shall be deemed to be dangerous if the percentage of inflammable gas in the general body of the air in that place is found to be two and a half or upwards, or, in any place situate in a part of the mine worked with naked lights, if the percentage of inflammable gas as aforesaid is one and one-quarter or upwards.

Every report pursuant to subsection one of this section shall be recorded in a separate book, which shall be kept at the mine for the purpose, and shall be signed by the person who made the inspection; and a copy of such report shall be forthwith forwarded by the manager to the Inspector.

If a workman discovers the presence of inflammable gas in his working-place he shall immediately withdraw therefrom and inform the fireman-deputy.

If as a result of any inspection which they are authorized by section one hundred and thirty hereof to make the workmen’s inspectors report to the manager in pursuance of that section that the mine or any part thereof is in a condition dangerous to life, or that any dangerous practice exists in the working thereof, they may, by notice in writing under their hands, request the manager to stop work in the mine or in any such dangerous part, or to withdraw the men therefrom and to remedy any dangerous condition, or to discontinue any dangerous practice referred to in the report.

If the manager fails to comply with such notice within a reasonable time, the workmen’s inspectors may forward to the Inspector a copy of their report, and request him to withdraw the men from the mine or dangerous part, or to have the dangerous practice discontinued.

If the Inspector, after inspection of the mine or part or investigation of the practice complained of, is of opinion that the said notice is reasonable he shall comply with the request of the workmen’s inspectors by taking appropriate action under the next preceding section, but nothing herein shall relieve the manager from any liability he may have incurred for failure to observe the requirements of the last preceding section or of any other of the provisions of this Act.

If in any respect (which is not provided against by any express provision of this Act or by any general or special regulation) any Inspector finds any mine, or any part thereof, or any matter, thing, or practice in or connected with any mine, or with the control, management, or direction thereof by the owner, agent, or manager, to be dangerous or defective so as, in his opinion, to threaten or tend to the bodily injury of any person, such Inspector may give notice in writing thereof to the owner, agent, or manager of the mine, and shall state in such notice the particulars in which he considers such mine, or any part thereof, or any matter, thing, or practice, to be dangerous or defective, and require the same to be remedied.

If the Inspector is of opinion that the matter complained of in the notice is immediately dangerous to life he may also in the same notice require the men to be withdrawn from the mine, or part thereof referred to (except such workmen as may be required for the purpose of putting the mine or the said part thereof in a safe condition), until the matter is remedied or the cause of danger removed, and, save in pursuance of an award made on arbitration under this section, mining operations shall not be resumed in the mine, or the said part thereof, until the Inspector has certified in writing that the matter complained of has been remedied or the cause of danger removed.

Any owner, agent, or manager who directs or wilfully allows mining operations to be resumed or continued in breach of this section shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds for every day or part of a day during which such operations were resumed or continued.

If the owner, agent, or manager of the mine objects to remedying the matter complained of in the notice or to the withdrawal of the men he may, within ten days after the receipt of such notice, send his objection in writing, stating the grounds thereof, to the Minister, and shall also send a copy of the same to the Inspector, and thereupon the matter shall be determined by arbitration in manner provided by this Act, and the date of the receipt of such objection shall be deemed to be the date of the reference.

If the owner, agent, or manager fails, when no objection is sent as aforesaid, to comply with the notice to remedy any matter within a reasonable time, but not longer than twenty days after the receipt of the notice, or, when there has been a reference to arbitration, to comply with the award within the time fixed by the award, or, if no time is so fixed, within a reasonable time but not longer than twenty days after the making thereof, he shall be guilty of an offence against this Act, and the notice and award shall respectively be deemed to be written notice of the offence:

Provided that the Court, if satisfied that the owner, agent, or manager has taken active measures for complying with the notice or award, but has not with reasonable diligence been able to complete the necessary works, may adjourn any proceedings taken before it for punishing such offence, and if the works are completed within a reasonable time no fine shall be inflicted.

No person shall be precluded by any agreement from doing such acts as may be necessary to comply with the provisions of this section, or be liable under any contract to any penalty or forfeiture for doing such acts.

Without prejudice to the liability of any person to the aforesaid penalties, jurisdiction is hereby given to the Warden or Magistrate, as the case may be, to restrain any breach or threatened breach of this section by injunction at the instance of the Inspector, and to make such order in the matter as to costs and otherwise as the Warden or Magistrate thinks fit.

Where in the opinion of an Inspector a mine, or any part thereof, is immediately dangerous to life by reason of any breach of this Act or of any general or special regulations thereunder, he may, in addition to taking proceedings as for an offence against this Act, require by notice in writing the withdrawal of the workmen from the mine, or part thereof, until the cause of danger is removed, and with respect to such withdrawal the provisions of the last preceding section shall apply, except the provisions regarding the lodging of an objection and the reference of the matter to arbitration.

Every person employed in or about any mine shall, before commencing and whilst at work, satisfy himself of the safety of his working-place and of any tubs, chains, tackle, windlass, ropes, or other appliances he may use, and in case of any defect or insecurity he shall cease to use anything unsafe, and shall notify the person under whose immediate direction or control he is of such defect or insecurity.

Every person employed in or about any mine who witnesses any circumstance, matter, or thing which may be likely to produce therein danger of any kind shall notify the same to the person under whose immediate directions or control he may be.

Every notification made in pursuance of the two last preceding subsections shall, if not made in the first instance to the manager, be transmitted through the proper officials of the mine to the manager, who shall take such steps as may be necessary to remedy any defect or to remove any cause of insecurity or danger.

Every person in subcharge of or employed in mining operations in any part of a mine shall, on changing his shift, inform the person appointed to relieve him of the state of the workings in the part of the mine in which he has been employed.

Every person who fails to make or transmit any notification required by this section commits an offence against this Act.

Where any mine is abandoned the owner of such mine at the time of such abandonment shall, within one month after such abandonment, send to the Inspector an accurate copy of the plan of the mine required to be kept in terms of section seventy-nine hereof, showing the workings and other particulars corrected up to the date of abandonment. If the mine is one at which no plan is required to be kept in terms of the said section, the owner shall forward an accurate plan on a scale of not less than two chains to the inch showing the workings in relation to the surface up to the date of abandonment and such other particulars as may be prescribed.

Every person who fails to comply with this section is guilty of an offence against this Act.

When any mine is abandoned or the working thereof or of any shaft thereof discontinued, at whatever time the abandonment or discontinuance occurred, it shall be the duty of the owner thereof, and of every other person interested in the minerals in the mine, to cause the top or entrance of every shaft and outlet, or of every disused shaft, as the case may be, to be kept surrounded by a structure of a permanent character sufficient to prevent accidents, or to fill up such shaft or outlet:

Provided that as between himself and any other persons interested in the minerals in the mine the owner of the mine shall be liable to carry out the provisions of this subsection, and to pay any costs, charges, and expenses incurred by any such other person in carrying them out:

Provided further that nothing in this section shall exempt any person from liability under any other Act or otherwise.

The owner of any land on which trial pits are sunk shall cause all such pits on which work has ceased to be filled up or kept surrounded by a structure of a permanent character sufficient to prevent accidents.

No person shall be precluded by any agreement or otherwise from doing, or be liable to any injunction, damages, penalty, or forfeiture in respect of, such acts as may be necessary in order to comply with the provisions of this section.

No person shall, after any shaft has become disused for mining purposes, wilfully damage or render useless such shaft by the removal of any fencing, covering, casing, lining, ladder, platform, or other appliance provided in such shaft, without the consent of the Minister.

When any shaft, outlet, or seam of any mine is abandoned, or the working thereof discontinued, or when the working of a shaft, outlet, or seam of any mine is recommenced after any abandonment or discontinuance for a period exceeding one month, the owner, agent, or manager shall give notice thereof in writing to the Inspector within one month after such abandonment, discontinuance, or recommencement.

Where any working has approached within forty yards of a place containing or likely to contain an accumulation of water or other liquid matter, or of disused workings (not being workings which have been examined and found to be free from accumulations of water or other liquid matter), the working shall not exceed eight feet in width, and there shall be constantly kept extending to a sufficient distance, not being less than twenty feet, in advance, at least one borehole near the centre of the working, and sufficient flank boreholes on each side at intervals of not more than fifteen feet.

In every mine which in the opinion of an Inspector is liable to an inundation or inburst of water, such additional shafts, rises, chambers, drives, and other workings, or any of them, shall be constructed as may seem necessary or as may be directed by the Minister for the escape of workmen from the lower workings, or to ensure their safety in every such mine during the period of any inundation or inburst of water in such mine.

Safe and suitable lights, approved of by the Inspector, shall be provided for the use of miners when travelling in the main drives or roadways of any mine, and the upper entrance to every shaft or blind shaft in use, while open or unfenced, shall be illuminated by a fixed light.

At every mine in which inflammable gas has been found, and at any other mine when required by the Inspector, a barometer and thermometer shall be placed above ground in a conspicuous position near the entrance to the mine.

In any mine where so required by the Inspector a hygrometer shall be placed both in the main intake airway and in the main return airway of the mine.

The instruments required to be provided by this section shall be read at such intervals and by such persons as may be prescribed, and the readings shall be entered in a book to be kept at the mine for the purpose.

Every person in or about a mine shall comply with such directions with respect to working as may be given to him by any official of the mine or other authorized person in pursuance of the provisions of this Part of this Act and to effect compliance therewith, or in the interests of safety.

No person employed in or about a mine shall negligently or wilfully do anything likely to endanger life or limb in the mine, or negligently or wilfully omit to do anything necessary for the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein.

Where, in or about any mine, whether above or below ground, any accident occurs which—

the owner, agent, or manager shall forthwith notify the workmen’s inspectors in writing and the Inspector by telegraph of such accident, and shall in addition forthwith send to the Inspector a written notice in the form and containing the particulars prescribed. Where any such accident is accompanied by loss of life the owner, agent, or manager shall also notify the Minister thereof by telegraph.

Every owner, agent, or manager who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence.

Where loss of life or serious personal injury has immediately resulted from an accident, the place where the accident occurred shall be left as it was immediately after the accident until the expiration of at least three days after the sending of the notice aforesaid to the Inspector, or until the inspection of the place by the Inspector, whichever first happens, unless compliance with this provision would tend to increase or continue a danger or would seriously impede the working of the mine.

As soon as practicable after any such accident the Inspector shall visit the mine, and shall give to the mine-manager and to a workmen’s inspector appointed under section one hundred and thirty hereof notice of the time when such visit is to be made.

The workmen’s inspector shall be permitted to inspect the place where the accident occurred and to accompany the Inspector of Coal-mines on such visit, and shall report the result thereof in the manner provided by the said section.

Where a Coroner holds an inquest on the body of any person whose death may have been caused by any accident of which notice is required by this Act to be given to the Inspector, the Coroner shall adjourn the inquest, unless an Inspector, or some other person on behalf of the Minister, is present to watch the proceedings.

The Coroner, at least four days before holding the adjourned inquest, shall send to the Inspector notice in writing of the time and place of holding the adjourned inquest.

The Coroner, before the adjournment, may take evidence to identify the body, and may order the interment thereof.

If an accident has not occasioned the death of more than one person, and the Coroner has sent to the Inspector notice of the time and place of holding the inquest at such time as to reach the Inspector not less than forty-eight hours before the time of holding the same, it shall not be imperative on him to adjourn the inquest in pursuance of this section if, sitting without a jury, he thinks it unnecessary so to adjourn, or, sitting with a jury, the majority of the jury think it unnecessary.

An Inspector, or other person authorized in that behalf by the Minister, shall be at liberty at any such inquest to examine any witness, subject nevertheless to the power of the Coroner to disallow any question which in his opinion is not relevant or is otherwise not a proper question.

Where evidence is given at an inquest at which an Inspector is not present of any neglect as having caused or contributed to the accident, or of any defect in or about the mine appearing to the Coroner or jury to require a remedy, the Coroner shall send to the Inspector notice in writing of such neglect or defect.

Where an inquest is taken by jurors, any person having a personal interest in or employed in or about or in the management of the mine in or about which the accident occurred shall not be qualified to serve on the jury empanelled on the inquest; and it shall be the duty of the constable or other officer not to summon any person disqualified under this provision, and it shall be the duty of the Coroner not to allow any such person to be sworn or to sit on the jury. One-half of the jurors shall, however, whenever it is practicable, be miners.

The following persons shall be at liberty to attend at any inquest and examine any witness, either in person or by counsel, subject nevertheless to the power of the Coroner to disallow any question which in his opinion is not relevant or is otherwise not a proper question:—

Any accident occurring in a mine shall be prima facie evidence that such accident occurred through some negligence on the part of the owner.

If any person employed in or about any mine suffers any injury in person, or is killed, owing to the non-observance in such mine of any of the provisions of this Act, such non-observance not being solely due to the negligence of the person so injured or killed, or owing in any way to the negligence of the owner of such mine, his agents or servants, the person so injured, or his personal representatives, or the personal representatives of the person so killed, may recover from the owner compensation by way of damages as for a tort committed by such owner; and the amount of such compensation, with the costs of recovering the same when determined, shall constitute a charge on the mine and mining plant in or about which such person was so employed, and all charges arising under the provisions of this section shall, as between themselves, be paid rateably.

Such compensation may be recovered under the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act, 1922, or the Deaths by Accidents Compensation Act, 1908, which shall respectively be applicable, according to the circumstances of each particular case.

Nothing in this section shall take away from any person any right to take proceedings in respect of a claim for compensation for injury or death by accident which he may have under any Act other than this, if he prefers to proceed under such Act, but in such case he shall forfeit any right he may have to take proceedings under this section.

There shall be provided by the owner in every mine adequate sanitary conveniences both above and below ground, the provision, maintenance, and use thereof being in accordance with such regulations as may be prescribed.

In every mine the owner shall provide adequate change-house accommodation, within the time limited by the Inspector, near the principal entrance to the mine to enable the persons employed in the mine to change and dry their clothes therein. The change-house shall not be in the engine-room or boiler-house, and the drying of clothes upon the boiler shall not be permitted.

The construction and design of change-houses shall be in accordance with such regulations as may be prescribed.

Subject as hereinafter provided, bathhouses supplied with hot and cold water and of a design prescribed by regulations shall be erected and maintained by the owner at every mine for the use of the persons employed in or about the mine:

Provided that this section shall not apply to mines in which not more than ten men are employed underground in the mine.

The owner shall not be compelled to erect bathhouses of to reopen bathhouses lawfully closed under subsection four hereof until a vote of the workmen working underground in the mine has been taken, or unless at least seventy-five per centum of the men where the number is twenty or under, at least fifty per centum where the number is over twenty but not over fifty, and at least thirty per centum where the number is over fifty, vote in favour of the erection of bathhouses or of the reopening thereof.

The vote of workmen as required by the last preceding subsection shall be taken within three months after the date of commencing mining operations in the case of a new mine, and in any other case on a requisition signed by not less than ten workmen working underground in the mine.

If in the opinion of the mine-manager sufficient use is not made of the baths, he may give notice to the workmen’s inspectors that he proposes to take a tally of the men using the baths throughout a period of one month, and if it is found that the total number using the baths is on the average less than twenty per centum of the men employed underground it shall be optional with the owner whether he keeps the bathhouses open or not.

If a tally is taken under subsection four hereof by the mine-manager, full facilities shall be given to the workmen’s inspectors to take a similar tally over the same period.

If a vote is taken on the question of erecting or reopening bathhouses and not carried no further vote shall be taken on the question for at least three months from the date of such prior vote, and where bathhouses have been closed under the foregoing provisions of this section no vote on the question of reopening them shall be taken for at least three months from the date of such closing.

The owner of a mine shall complete the erection of bathhouses within twelve months from the date of the carrying of the vote in favour thereof, and shall reopen any bathhouses within one month of the carrying of a vote in favour of such reopening.

The owner of any coal-mine or his agent shall, if and when required by notice under the hand of the Minister so to do, provide suitable housing accommodation, to the satisfaction of the Minister, for the workmen employed in or about the mine, or for any such workmen, and for their families.

Accommodation provided for any workmen pursuant to this section shall be so provided on such terms and conditions as the Minister may approve.

Every person who wilfully fails to comply with the requirements of a notice under this section commits an offence against this Act, and shall be liable to a fine of fifty pounds, and to a further fine of five pounds for every day during which such failure continues.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any coal-mining lease or in any agreement or elsewhere, the owner of every coalmine, whether situated on private lands or on Crown lands, shall, in addition to any royalty payable by him, pay in manner hereinafter set out a sum equivalent to one halfpenny a ton on all marketable coal raised from the mine, to be applied to the necessary relief of persons employed in or about mines who may be injured whilst so employed and to the relief of the families or dependants of persons who may be killed or injured whilst so employed.

In the months of January, April, July, and October of each year every owner of a mine shall pay the sum due under the last preceding subsection on all marketable coal raised from the mine during the preceding three months respectively ending on the last day of the previous months of December, March, June, and September to the officer in charge of the nearest branch office of the Public Trust Office, or, if that is not convenient, into the post-office money-order office which is nearest to the mine for transmission to the Public Trustee, who shall credit the amount to an account called the Coal-miners’ Relief Fund.

Any Inspector or other person authorized by the Minister is hereby authorized and empowered, at any reasonable time, to examine from time to time the books of any owner of a coal-mine for the purpose of ascertaining the quantity and description of coal raised and sold from such mine during any period or periods.

Every owner of a coal-mine who refuses, obstructs, or prevents, or causes the refusal, obstruction, or prevention of, the production of the books of the mine, and the free examination of such books for the aforesaid purposes by the Inspector or other authorized person on his request for such production, is guilty of an offence against this Act, and is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds for every day during which such refusal, obstruction, or prevention continues.

If any owner of a coal-mine evades or attempts to evade, or does any act or makes default in the performance of any duty with intent to evade, the payment of any sum due under this section, he shall be chargeable by way of penalty for such offence with an additional sum equal to twice the amount payment of which he evaded or attempted to evade, and the original sum together with the penal charge shall be recoverable at the suit of an Inspector or other person authorized by the Minister as if it were a debt due to the Crown, and when so recovered shall be paid to the credit of the fund.

All moneys paid to the credit of the Coal-miners’ Relief Fund shall be operated on only by the Public Trustee in accordance with regulations to be made from time to time in that behalf.

The Coal-miners’ Relief Fund shall be managed and administered in accordance with regulations to be from time to time prescribed, which regulations may fix a commission, not exceeding five per centum per annum, to be paid to the Public Trustee in respect of the management and administration of the fund.

Every Sick and Accident Fund established under the Coalmines Act, 1908, or any former Act is hereby abolished, and the appointment of persons to operate on such fund is hereby cancelled. All moneys standing to the credit of any such fund shall, without further authority than this Act, be transmitted to the Public Trustee to be by him credited to the Coal-miners’ Relief Fund, and any charges on any such Sick and Accident Fund shall thereafter be met out of the said Relief Fund. The persons lately administering any such Sick and Accident Fund shall furnish to the Public Trustee such information in respect of the fund as may be required by him.

For the purposes of this section “coal” includes claystone and fireclay.

Without restricting the generality of the provisions relating to the application of moneys in the Coal-miners’ Relief Fund to the relief of persons injured or of the dependants of deceased or injured persons, there may be paid from the fund in respect of any person employed in or about a mine who dies from the effect of an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment a lump sum not exceeding fifty pounds to the widow of such person and his children (if any) under the age of sixteen years at the date of his death, or, if such person is unmarried, to any near relatives who were wholly or partially dependent on him at the date of his death. The said sum shall be paid in such shares as the Public Trustee decides.

In addition to payments from the fund under the foregoing provisions of this Act, payments may be made for such other purposes for the benefit of persons employed in or about mines or of the dependants of such persons as may be prescribed, and may also, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, be made to any medical club formed under this Act: